Castle Paradox

[Pepsi Ranger]

That's right. We have another cryptic beginning to what the future will call Epic Marathon 6.

Which starts today.

Below are the lengthy details. For the condensed version, check out Slime Salad.

For those who need details, here you go:

Sixth Annual Epic Marathon Contest

Rules

Table of Contents:

Mission Statement
Purpose
Method of Madness
Rules of the Game
Scoring
Contest Dates and Deadlines
Prizes
Story Elements
Design Mission Objectives

Mission Statement:

The Epic Marathon Contest is the reasonably yearly effort to create a community-based series of games that build in accord with each other as an epic, rather than separately as individual microcosms.

Purpose:

Too often community members produce games that only go so far before the story line ends or dies in the making. For those who manage to finish a project, only a few make the decision to expand the game’s universe to include more characters, locations, and situations to enhance the experience. Even then the creator will rarely take the sequel to promising heights.

The Epic Marathon picks up where the origin leaves off. Sometimes it means expanding an existing game. Other times it means creating a chain of games from scratch. Regardless of the subject, the Epic Marathon Contest promises to tie all game entries into each other to form a singular but ongoing epic that conforms to the main story as best as each designer’s imagination and collaboration skills allow.

This year, contestants will tell the story of a displaced city.

Method of Madness:

Each contestant must start the game in a room of some sort—can be a bedroom, a living room, a hotel room, whatever—and the main character must awake thinking the world is just as it was when he went to bed.

When he steps outside, he’ll discover that his hometown of Boston is no longer in Massachusetts.

The contestant will decide what happens next.

The goal this year is to link each hero’s experience to those presented in other games (while implementing a fun adventure, thriller, or comedy to boot).

Rules of the Game:

I am fairly lenient when it comes to contest games, so I don’t hold to many of the restrictions that other contest creators hold. However, some rules must apply to keep this contest running smoothly, so I will outline them here.

1. Subtitles must be used for this contest. Veterans of Epic Marathon know this to mean Game Title: Subtitle. Some examples include Boston, Maryland: Dead Zone; Boston, Maryland: The World Laughs; or Boston, Maryland: The Enemy’s Greatest Trick. But it’s up to you to decide what follows the main title.

2. Each major element of the game must be credited to someone (graphics, music, story, and plotscripting). I will allow ripping, but the source of the rip must be recognized. You don’t have to credit every individual tile specifically, but you must state that graphics were ripped from Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, or whatever other game you might choose to rip from. Same applies to music. Music from a commercial game can be credited as a whole, rather than by individual tracks. Only specific songs must be credited specifically (i.e. Sting—“Desert Rose”). Anything ripped from public domain sources only need to be credited as public domain. You may NOT rip graphics or music from other OHR games without the author’s permission. Violations will result in immediate disqualification.

3. Since this installment of Epic Marathon harks back to the traditions of old, story lines must be kept hidden until release. Screenshots, video clips, and music samples will be permitted, but plots and character profiles should be kept hidden from the public until the game is released. I will permit early releases, though. And I will permit private messages among contestants about transitional characters (heroes who show up as NPCs in other games).

4. Anybody can work on any game. One contestant may collaborate on two games, two contestants may collaborate on one game, or all contestants may collaborate on all games. It doesn’t really matter. The stipulation is that only one contestant may take official ownership of the game. Everybody else will be counted as “collaborators.”

5. While using the same characters in all games is ideal (which you’ll have to privately discuss with your fellow contestants about), the only thing that must remain consistent is that Boston is no longer in Massachusetts. Technically, it should be in Maryland, but I think it would be more fun for you guys to decide where it actually ends up (not to mention it would make the continuity factor a lot more funny).

6. Entries must have an ending. Contestants are not required to complete the entire game as the story intends, but there must be a defined point where the program ends. Do not submit a game that hangs (leaving the player wondering if there’s anything else to do). There must be a working “game over” script implemented in the last playable area, and it should ideally show up at the end of a completed game, or at least at the end of a completed act. Please do not end the game in the middle of a scene. That would be inconsiderate to the players.

7. Epic Marathon, though preferably made with the OHR, doesn’t have to be exclusive to it. Providing the contestant can finish the game within the time allotted, he or she can use the game engine of his choice. He can also choose to substitute a game with a short story, screenplay, or any alternative story-driven medium.

Scoring:

The games will be rated on a traditional judging system. However, each contestant will have the opportunity to add or subtract points from his or her overall score.

The judging phase will be based on a Top 10 system. If there are ten or more games submitted in the contest, then only the ten favorites must be accounted for in the judging. If there are fewer than ten entries, then all the games must be accounted for. The top rated game in a voter’s Top 10 list will receive ten points, the second will receive nine, the third eight, etc. until there are no more games to give points to.

A game that shows up in its “owner’s” Top 10 will be rated according to how it stands in other judges’ Top 10s. For example, if the owner (Fred) honestly believes his game deserves the No. 3 spot, then other voters must also agree that it deserves the No. 3 spot (at the very least) to garner points. The way this works is that for every voter that votes Fred’s game into the Top 3, Fred will earn a point toward his position maximum. Since the No. 3 spot is worth eight points, Fred must have at least eight voters (including himself) place his game into their third spot (or better) to get the full value. If Fred votes his game into the No. 3 spot, but only two people agree with him, then he will only get three points for his game on his list (one point for each voter including himself). If Fred votes his game in the No. 7 spot (which is worth three points), then he only needs himself and two others to vote for his game in the Top 7 to get the full value of that position. Regardless of where the contestant votes his game, he will gain at least one point (or whatever the point minimum will be) toward his overall score. The minimum point value will depend on how many games are entered. The contestant’s vote will always be worth the minimum.

Additional scores will be awarded under design incentives. Contestants will also be awarded an additional ten points for contributing as collaborators to the winning game (which has the possibility of swinging the winning game in the collaborator’s favor).

Points will be deducted for violations of certain rules. The following list will show the point deduction for violating the rules listed above:

Rule #1: Failure to include a subtitle into the “Boston, Maryland” title
Penalty — 10 points

Rule #2a: Failure to give proper credit for each major design element (graphics, music, story, and plotscripting)
Penalty — 50 points

Rule #2b: Ripping graphics or music from another OHR game without permission
Penalty — Instant disqualification

Rule #3: Giving the details of the game away before release. Note: This rule only applies to sharing story and character details in public. Private messages between contestants will not count against you, nor will posting screenshots, music samples, or short video clips showing off a special feature.
Penalty — 50 points

Rule #5: Failure to set the game in a displaced Boston
Penalty — 50 points

Rule #6: Failure to properly end the game with a “game over” script (leaving the game hanging)
Penalty — 100 points

Note #1: An additional 10 points will be deducted for each day a game is late in getting submitted to the Game List after the design phase ends.

Contest Dates and Deadlines:

Because Epic Marathon: The OBC Network is still running, this contest will last a month beyond OBC's deadline to account for those who might be trying to finish both.

January 25 — Contest begins. Get to it.

June 30 — Contest officially ends. All games must be submitted by the end of the day (in your own time zones). No episode will be accepted after 6am July 1st EST.

July 7 — Bugfix period ends. All submitted games will be counted as “final” on this date.

July 14 — Judging begins.

July 21 — Judging ends. Results will be posted sometime afterward.

Prizes:

A prize will be awarded to the first-place winner. Judging by my own luck with the mainstream publishing world, this will either be an awesome prize or a really crappy one. Essentially, the winner will have the opportunity to have the game of his choice (it has to be his own) played by the main character of an upcoming novel. This will mean not only exposure for the author’s game to an untapped audience, but exposure for the OHR itself (if a publisher buys it and people read it). Of course, this has the potential to go absolutely nowhere, but I’m not ready to submit to that, so plan on having your game exposed to an audience of ten thousand or more without going through a Brazilian website. (Yes, this is the same prize as the one presented in Epic Marathon 5. This is part two of the double feature, after all.)

Remember, only one person may claim ownership to an entry. That person will be the winner of the prize. Contributors to the winning game may receive ten points to the overall score of the entries that they own (potentially changing the winner), but will not share in the final prize (unless the winner chooses something that he or she is able to share).

In the event of a contributor taking the lead through the ten-point spike, his or her potential contributors will not be awarded additional points for their entries.

In the event of a tie, each winner must write an essay of 250 words or less why he or she thinks his game is the better of the two (or three, etc.). I will judge which essay is the most convincing (with two other judges giving second and third opinions for objectivity) and award the prize to the last man standing.

Story Elements

Official Game Title:
Boston, Maryland

Special Notes:
This story will be a lot more interesting for the player if you borrow characters from other contestants’ entries. I’d suggest some private messaging for the next six months.

Contestants who make an OHR game instead of a short story or other non-interactive medium will receive bonus points for keeping an OHR-related contest exclusive to the OHR.

Design Mission Objectives:

The design mission objectives are a series of options a designer can take to enhance the experience of playing the game, as well as to make a game out of the design process itself.

Typically, the incentive for taking design mission objectives is to increase your overall score in the judging. For this contest, a designer will receive an additional 10 points to his overall score for each design mission he or she implements (up to three).

Mission #1: Create a park scene where a hot dog vendor thinks he lost his Senate seat overnight.

Mission #2: Draft a hero from another contestant’s entry into your hero’s party (five extra points will be awarded if the creator of that hero does the same with your character).

Mission #3: Customize a battle sequence that flashes comic-style attacks on certain keypresses (consult your favorite plotscripter on how to accomplish this if you need to). Or develop a map-based battle that requires the hero to solve a complex puzzle to win.

Mission #4: Implement a complex security system for your character to navigate and disable (complete with surveillance cameras).

Mission #5: Make clever use of the “input string” function to solve a puzzle.

Mission #6: Have the cause of Boston’s displacement be a result of something other than aliens or deus ex machina.

Mission #7: Invent a new consumer product that shows up all over the game world and somehow influences the direction of the story.

Mission #8: Build a character customize screen that allows the player to set his own starting attributes (like in The Sims). A bonus of five points if the attributes system actually affects gameplay.

Note: Designers will be encouraged to include supplemental materials with the game file, including story documents (a word document outlining any back story or design element that might not be apparent within the game, or a written account of the game itself), graphic documents (pictures of your favorite characters), timelines (how the character reached his status as hero), music files (songs about your representation of the character), or anything else you can think of to enhance the game experience. Supplemental materials will be awarded 10 points each, up to 30 points total.

Note #2: Designers will also receive an additional 30 points for making their Boston, Maryland entry into an OHR game.

Note #3: Since Epic Marathons 5 and 6 are sharing time, the opportunity to gain an additional 50 points for making or refurbishing a game from one of the first four Epic Marathon contests will apply to this contest, too.

Last Thoughts:

Contest has officially begun, so get to it.

OHR games receive better rewards than other types of submissions.

Find out who all is participating and start holding a behind-the-scenes discussion so you can earn those bonuses.

Outline your design missions in a separate text file just so the judges (and I) know what to look for. And have fun. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Moogle's Game-a-thon starts next week. You might win two contests if you finish and submit before mid-March.
_________________
Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2

[Moogle1]

[Pepsi Ranger]

[TMC]

Eventually, I've come to the conclusion that I just don't understand the rules. Not being involved in any previous Epic Marathon Contests might have something to do with it.

[Pepsi Ranger]

Essentially, the rule about sharing poses a restriction on public announcements regarding plot lines and whatnot. In the past this was in place to make the continuity factor a greater challenge, and still make the transition from one game to another more fun for the player. But that was also in a time when games followed each other in a train of sequels, and we haven't done that since the original contest. For now it's just a way to let those who have nothing to do with the game still have a reason to be surprised.

In the end it's a pretty lax rule. As long as story details don't show up in the public forums, you're not breaking the rule.

About the old games: You're not reentering old contests; you're just revisiting old games that haven't been worked on since the close of their respective contests. It's sort of like James going back to Wandering Hamster after three years. He doesn't have to, but as it stands WH isn't finished, so at some point he might want to go back. I think Uncommon feels this way about Magnus 17 sometimes. While most people won't go back to an old contest game once the contest is over, this bonus will at least give them incentive to revisit them.

As far as building new games for old contests go, this feature is in place for those epics that received little to no content. It's just a way to broaden the scope of those old worlds (because I know without this incentive, no one would bother revisiting them).

But yeah, you won't be "judged" on the old game upgrades or the new additions to old epics. The old contests are closed. You'll just get 50 points for expanding what's already there, to make them a little more complete (or in the case of Volcanic Kings, functional).
_________________
Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2

[Pepsi Ranger]

Just a gentle reminder that Epic Marathon 6: Boston, Maryland closed a couple days ago.

I don't think anyone participated. But if there was some ninja uploading done in the last couple days that I didn't notice, I'd appreciate someone pointing it out to me.

Otherwise, I can't in fair conscious give out any prizes for this contest.

So I'll be putting that $500 check back in my wallet.

Just kidding, the prize was nowhere near that cool.
_________________
Progress Report:

The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition

Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.

Tightfloss Maiden

Currently Updating: Chapter 2